London claims top spot in global ‘Cities of Opportunity’ report

21 May 2014

London has claimed the global top spot as a centre for business, finance and culture, in PwC’s sixth annual Cities of Opportunity index of 30 major international cities – the first time the UK capital has held the title.

Cities of Opportunity analysed a range of factors across 30 global cities and concluded that London’s economic clout, reputation as an urban gateway, technology access, and development and design capabilities topped a strong performance across a range of indicators measuring how major international cities are developing.

Reinforcing London's growing reputation as a tech hub, the report says the city is “technologically on top of its game” leaping from eighth place in last year’s report to joint first with Seoul for technology readiness this year.

London also gets top ranking for software and multimedia development and design, finishes second overall for broadband quality (up 12 places on last year), and ranks third behind only Singapore and Seoul for internet access in schools.

The UK capital finishes a narrow second to Paris in intellectual capital and innovation, up on last year’s performance, with strong performance in the number of people in higher education, the quality of universities, and access to libraries.

Only Sydney beats London for demographics and liveability, both key areas for future urban prosperity assessed in the report.

But the report warns that London's performance in terms of cost and the environment could be better, with the city slipping to mid table overall against its competitors on cost, sustainability and the environment.

The report comes on the day the Office of National Statistics (ONS) warned that London’s property prices had soared by more than twice the UK average, growing by 17% in the year to March 2014.